Singing sisters capture attention

Sunday

Dec 9, 2012 at 1:00 PM

By Noelle Clemens

There is no reason to look anywhere outside of Sault Ste. Marie to find musical talent. Missy and Chelsea Zenker are two sisters with big dreams and a lot of talent. Community members may have seen them perform around the area — on the sidewalks downtown, at the Sugar Island Music Festival, or more recently at the high school talent show, where they took top prize.

"We play wherever we can," said Missy, 17 and lead vocal.

Both play guitar — Missy the acoustic, and Chelsea, 15, plays bass while singing back-up.

However, these teens don't just play their guitars and sing songs. They write them as well.

"I was seven when I wrote my first song that I remember. It was about jelly beans," Missy said. "It's a silly song, but I really liked how writing a song felt. So I continued."

"It's mostly Missy who writes the songs," Chelsea said.

But Missy negates all of the credit for their song writing.

"I'll write something and play it for Chelsea and she'll add things into it or suggest something else, and it always makes the song better," she said. "She definitely has an impact on it."

The Zenkers were born in Michigan, and have always considered it home. However, they have lived in many places. They moved to Sault Ste. Marie just over a year ago, after living in places such as Virginia, Minnesota, and Haslett, Michigan.

No matter where they lived, one thing always stayed the same: their love for music.

It all started when the girls were 4.

"Our mom taught us to play piano and the violin. She is very talented. We definitely get our musicality from her," said Missy.

The pair also grew up singing. They sang in church, Christmas caroled at country clubs, and often performed for their family.

"We have a lot of home videos of us singing," stated Chelsea.

Their lives began to change around the 8th grade when Missy desperately wanted an electric guitar.

"I wanted to be a rock star," she said.

She received her guitar that Christmas; however, it sat in the basement for a long time. For reasons unknown, Missy wandered downstairs to her guitar at the end of her 8th grade year and taught herself to play. "I guess I got bored. I just flipped through the book it came with and sat there for hours."

When their father offered to take Missy in for guitar lessons, it wasn't long after when younger sister Chelsea wanted a guitar as well.

From then on, the two sisters have continued to grow and learn together, something that has undoubtedly shaped who they are as artists. They have different tastes in music, but this doesn't hinder their ability to make music.

"I know I couldn't do this by myself," said Chelsea. We don't strive for power over each other. We are here for one another."

The girls are extremely thankful for the support of their family.

"We know we are blessed with parents who are so supportive," said both Missy and Chelsea. "They believe in our dream."

It's not just family who think these sisters are good at what they do. Missy and Chelsea have over 250,000 views of their videos on YouTube, over 800 fans on their Facebook page, and many songs played on internet websites. The girls have a website on reverbnation.com with over 1,700 fans. They have been compared to Taylor Swift, Demi Levato, and Carrie Underwood.

Missy and Chelsea are excited that people are starting to know and identify with them.

"We get butterflies in out stomach when we see the number of people who have viewed our videos and listened to our songs. It's awesome to read the comments from fans; it feels really good," Chelsea said.

It's important to the girls that their songs speak to all kinds of people. They sing about real life while trying to maintain integrity.

"We don't need to sing about sex and drugs to make good music," they said.

Missy and Chelsea's first album includes 6 original songs, and there are plans in the works for a second as early as January 2013. The Zenkers continue to write new songs all the time and are looking forward to their fans hearing the new material.

"We do this for people. We want to be an outlet for people who need it," Missy stated.

"There's nothing else we want to do," said Chelsea.

The girls hope that one day they can make it big. They've even applied to compete on the television show "America's Got Talent."

For now, Missy and Chelsea will continue to go to high school, play sports, and hang out with friends.

"We are pretty normal," said Missy.

But they'll never stop writing and playing.

"We really want to do this. We aren't trying to be like anyone else, we just want to be Missy and Chelsea.